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Overview

Epistemology

Epistemology in Hindu Philosophy is called Pramāṇa (Sanskrit: प्रमाण).[6] It is a key, much debated field of study in Hinduism since ancient times. Pramana is Hindu theory of knowledge, and discusses means by which human beings gain accurate knowledge.[6] The focus of Pramana is how correct knowledge can be acquired, how one knows, how one doesn't, and to what extent knowledge pertinent about someone or something can be acquired.[3][7]

Ancient and medieval Hindu texts identify six pramanas as correct means of accurate knowledge and truths: Pratyakṣa (perception), Anumāṇa (inference), Upamāṇa (comparison and analogy), Arthāpatti (postulation, derivation from circumstances), Anupalabdi (non-perception, negative/cognitive proof) and Śabda (word, testimony of past or present reliable experts).[7][8] Each of these are further categorized in terms of conditionality, completeness, confidence and possibility of error, by each school of Hinduism. The various schools vary on how many of these six are valid paths of knowledge.[4] For example, Carvaka school of Hinduism holds that only one (perception) is epistemically reliable means of knowledge,[9]Samkhya holds three (perception, inference and testimony),[9] while Mimamsa and Advaita Vedanta schools of Hinduism hold all six are epistemically useful and reliable means to knowledge.[10]

Samkhya

Samkhya is the oldest of the orthodox philosophical systems in Hinduism, with origins in the 1st millennium BCE.[15] It is a rationalist school of Indian philosophy,[16] and had a strong influence on other schools of Indian philosophies.[17] Sāmkhya is an enumerationist philosophy whose epistemology accepted three of six Pramanas as the only reliable means of gaining knowledge. These included Pratyakṣa (perception), Anumāṇa (inference) and Sabda (Āptavacana, word/testimony of reliable sources).[18][9]

Samkhya school espouses dualism between consciousness and matter.[19] It regards the universe as consisting of two realities; Puruṣa (consciousness) and prakriti (matter). Jiva (a living being) is that state in which puruṣa is bonded to prakriti in some form.[20] This fusion, state the Samkhya scholars, led to the emergence of buddhi (awareness, intellect) and ahankara (individualized ego consciousness, “I-maker”). The universe is described by this school as one created by Purusa-Prakriti entities infused with various permutations and combinations of variously enumerated elements, senses, feelings, activity and mind.[20]

Samkhya philosophy includes a theory of gunas (qualities, innate tendencies, psyche).[21] Guna, it states, are of three types: Sattva being good, compassionate, illuminating, positive, and constructive; Rajas guna is one of activity, chaotic, passion, impulsive, potentially good or bad; and Tamas being the quality of darkness, ignorance, destructive, lethargic, negative. Everything, all life forms and human beings, state Samkhya scholars, have these three gunas, but in different proportions.[22] The interplay of these gunas defines the character of someone or something, of nature and determines the progress of life.[23][24] Samkhya theorises a pluralism of souls (Jeevatmas) who possess consciousness, but denies the existence of Ishvara (God).[25] Classical Samkhya is considered an atheist / non-theistic Hindu philosophy.[26][27][28]

The soteriology in Samkhya aims at the realization of Puruṣa as distinct from Prakriti, this knowledge of the Self is held to end transmigration and lead to absolute freedom (kaivalya).[29]

Yoga

In Indian philosophy, Yoga is among other things, the name of one of the six orthodox philosophical schools.[30] The Yoga philosophical system is closely allied with the dualism premises of Samkhya school.[31][32] The Yoga school accepts the Samkhya psychology and metaphysics, but is considered theistic because it accepts the concept of "personal god", unlike Samkhya.[33][34][35] The epistemology of Yoga school, like Sāmkhya school, relies on three of six Pramanas, as the means of gaining reliable knowledge:[36]Pratyakṣa (perception), Anumāṇa (inference) and Sabda (Āptavacana, word/testimony of reliable sources).[37] The universe is conceptualized as a dualism in Yoga school: Puruṣa (consciousness) and prakriti (matter); however, the Yoga school discusses this concept more generically as "seer, experiencer" and "seen, experienced", than does the Samkhya school.[38]

The Yoga school builds on the Samkhya school theory that jnana (knowledge) is a sufficient means to moksha. It suggests that systematic techniques/practice (personal experimentation) combined with Samkhya's approach to knowledge is the path to moksha.[31] Yoga shares several central ideas with Advaita Vedanta school of Hinduism, with the difference that Yoga philosophy is a form of experimental mysticism, while Advaita Vedanta is a form of monistic personalism.[42][43][44] Like Advaita Vedanta, the Yoga school of Hindu philosophy states that liberation/freedom in this life is achievable, and this occurs when an individual fully understands and realizes the equivalence of Atman (soul, self) and Brahman.[45][46]

Vaisheshika

Vaisheshika Hindu philosophy is a naturalism school,[47] and it is a form of atomism in natural philosophy.[48] It postulated that all objects in the physical universe are reducible to paramāṇu (atoms), and one's experiences are derived from the interplay of substance (a function of atoms, their number and their spatial arrangements), quality, activity, commonness, particularity and inherence.[49] Knowledge and liberation was achievable by complete understanding of the world of experience, according to Vaiśeṣika school of Hinduism.[49] Vaiśeṣika darshana is credited to Kaṇāda Kashyapa from the second half of the 1st millennium BCE.[49][50] The foundational text, Vaisheshika Sutras, opens as follows,

Dharma is that from which results the accomplishment of Exaltation and of the Supreme Good. The authoritativeness of the Veda arises from its being an exposition of dharma. The Supreme Good results from knowledge, produced from a particular dharma, of the essence of the Predicables, Substance, Attribute, Action, Genus, Species and Combination, by means of their resemblances and differences.

Vaiśeṣika school is related to the Nyaya school of Hinduism, but features differences in its epistemology, metaphysics and ontology.[52] The epistemology of Vaiśeṣika school of Hinduism, like Buddhism, accepted only two reliable means to knowledge - perception and inference.[10][53] Vaiśeṣika school and Buddhism both consider their respective scriptures as indisputable and valid means to knowledge, the difference being that the scriptures held to be a valid and reliable source by Vaiśeṣikas were the Vedas.[10][54]

Vaisheshika metaphysical premises are founded on a form of atomism, that the reality is composed of four substances (earth, water, air, fire). Each of these four are of two types:[48] atomic (paramāṇu) and composite. An atom is, according to Vaisheshika scholars, that which is indestructible (anitya), indivisible, and has a special kind of dimension, called “small” (aṇu). A composite, in this philosophy, is defined to be anything which is divisible into atoms. Whatever human beings perceive is composite, while atoms are invisible.[48] The Vaiśeṣikas stated that size, form, truths and everything that human beings experience as a whole is a function of atoms, their number and their spatial arrangements, their guna (quality), karma (activity), samanya (commonness), vishesha (particularity) and samavaya (inherence, inseparable connectedness of everything).[49][55]

Nyaya

The Nyaya school of Hindu philosophy is a realism, orthodox (astika) system.[56][57] This school's most significant contributions to Indian philosophy was systematic development of the theory of logic, methodology, and its treatises on epistemology.[58][59] The foundational text of Nyaya school is the Nyaya Sutras of 1st millennium BCE. It is credited to Aksapada Gautama, and variously dated to have been composed somewhere from the sixth-century to second-century BCE.[60][61]

In its metaphysics, Nyaya school is closer to Vaisheshika school of Hinduism than others.[56] It holds that human suffering results from mistakes/defects produced by activity under wrong knowledge (notions and ignorance).[62] Moksha (liberation), it states, is gained through right knowledge. This premise led Nyaya to concern itself with epistemology, that is the reliable means to gain correct knowledge and to remove wrong notions. False knowledge is not merely ignorance to Naiyayikas, it includes delusion. Correct knowledge is discovering and overcoming one's delusions, and understanding true nature of soul, self and reality.[63] The Nyaya Sutras, the foundational text of this school of Hindu philosophy, starts chapter 1 as follows,

Perception, Inference, Comparison and Word – these are the means of right knowledge.
Perception is that knowledge which arises from the contact of a sense with its object and which is determinate, unnameable and non-erratic.
Inference is knowledge which is preceded by perception, and is of three kinds: a priori, a posteriori, and commonly seen.
Comparison is the knowledge of a thing through its similarity to another thing previously well known.
Word is the instructive assertion of a reliable person.
It [knowledge] is of two kinds: that which is seen, and that which is not seen.
Soul, body, senses, objects of senses, intellect, mind, activity, fault, transmigration, fruit, suffering and release – are the objects of right knowledge.

Mimamsa school has several sub-schools, each refined by its epistemology. The Prābhākara Mishra sub-school of Mimamsa considered five epistemically reliable means to gaining knowledge: Pratyakṣa (perception), Anumāṇa (inference), Upamāṇa (comparison and analogy), Arthāpatti (postulation, derivation from circumstances), and Śabda (word, testimony of past or present reliable experts).[70][71] The Kumarila Bhatta sub-school of Mimamsa added sixth to its canon of reliable epistemology - Anupalabdi (non-perception, negative/cognitive proof).[72]

The metaphysics in Mimamsa school consists of both atheistic and theistic doctrines and the school showed little interest in systematic examination of the existence of God. Rather, it held that the soul is eternal omnipresent, inherently active spiritual essence, then focussed on the epistemology and metaphysics of dharma.[68][73][74] To them, dharma meant rituals and duties, not devas (gods) because gods existed only in name.[68] The Mimamsakas held that Vedas are "eternal authorless infallible", that Vedic vidhi (injunctions) and mantras in rituals are prescriptive karya (actions), and the rituals are of primary importance and merit. They considered the Upanishads (later portions of Vedas) and other self-knowledge, spirituality-related texts to be of secondary importance, a philosophical view that Vedanta school of Hinduism disagreed with.[65][68]

Mīmāṃsā gave rise to the study of philology and the philosophy of language.[75] While their deep analysis of language and linguistics influenced other schools of Hinduism,[76] their views were not shared by others. Mimamsakas considered the purpose and power of language was to clearly prescribe the proper, correct and right. In contrast, Vedantins extended the scope and value of language as a tool to also describe, develop and derive.[68] Mimamsakas considered orderly, law driven, procedural life as central purpose and noblest necessity of dharma and society, and divine (theistic) sustenance means to that end. The Mimamsa school was influential and foundational to Vedanta school of Hinduism, with the difference that Mimamsa school developed and emphasized karma-kanda (study of ritual actions, early parts of Vedas), while Vedanta school developed and emphasized jnana-kanda (study of knowledge and spirituality, later parts of Vedas).[65]

Vedanta

The Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy built upon the teachings of the Upanishads and Brahma Sutras from the 1st millennium BCE,[77][78] and is the most developed and well known of the Hindu schools. The epistemology of the Vedantins included, depending on the sub-school, five or six methods as proper and reliable means of gaining any form of knowledge:[79]Pratyakṣa (perception), Anumāṇa (inference), Upamāṇa (comparison and analogy), Arthāpatti (postulation, derivation from circumstances), Anupalabdi (non-perception, negative/cognitive proof) and Śabda (word, testimony of past or present reliable experts).[80][81] Each of these have been further categorized in terms of conditionality, completeness, confidence and possibility of error, by each sub-school of Vedanta.[79]

The emergence of Vedanta school of Hinduism represented a period when a more knowledge-centered understanding began to emerge. These focussed on jnana (knowledge) driven aspects of the Vedic religion and the Upanishads. This included metaphysical concepts such as Atman (soul, self) and Brahman, and emphasized meditation, self-discipline, self-knowledge and abstract spirituality, rather than ritualism. The Upanishads were variously interpreted by ancient and medieval era Vedanta scholars. Consequently, the Vedanta separated into many sub-schools, ranging from theistic dualism to non-theistic monism, each interpreting the texts in its own way and producing its own series of sub-commentaries.[82][83]

Advaita

Advaita literally means "not two, sole, unity". It is a sub-school of Vedanta, and asserts spiritual and universal non-dualism.[84][85] Its metaphysics is a form of absolute monism, that is all ultimate reality is interconnected oneness.[86][87] This is the oldest and most widely acknowledged Vedantic school. The foundational texts of this school are the Brahma Sutras and the early Upanishads from the 1st millennium BCE.[86] Its first great consolidator was the 8th century scholar Adi Shankara, who continued the line of thought of the Upanishadic teachers, and that of his teacher's teacher Gaudapada. He wrote extensive commentaries on the major Vedantic scriptures and is celebrated as one of the major Hindu philosophers from whose doctrines the main currents of modern Indian thought are derived.[88]

According to this school of Vedanta, all reality is Brahman, and there exists nothing whatsoever which is not Brahman.[89] Its metaphysics includes the concept of Maya and Atman. The Maya concept connotes "that which exists, but is constantly changing and thus is spiritually unreal".[90] The empirical reality is considered as always changing and therefore "transitory, incomplete, misleading and not what it appears to be".[91][92][93] The concept of Atman is of soul, self within each person, each living being. Advaita Vedantins assert that Atman (individual soul) is same as Brahman (cosmic soul, ultimate reality, highest universal, god), and this Brahman is within each human being and all life, all living beings are spiritually interconnected, and there is oneness in all of existence.[94][95] They hold that dualities and misunderstanding of Maya as the spiritual reality that matters is caused by ignorance, and are the cause of sorrow, suffering. Liberation (Jivanmukti) is achieved in this life, states Advaita Vedanta school, through Self-knowledge, the understanding that Atman within is same as Atman in another person and all of Brahman – the eternal, unchanging, entirety of cosmic principles and true reality.[96][95]

Vishishtadvaita

Ramanujacharya (c. 1037–1137 CE) was the foremost proponent of the philosophy of Vishishtadvaita or qualified non-dualism. Vishishtadvaita advocated the concept of a Supreme Being with essential qualities or attributes. Vishishtadvaitins argued against the Advaitin conception of Brahman as an impersonal empty oneness. They saw Brahman as an eternal oneness, but also as the source of all creation, which was omnipresent and actively involved in existence. To them the sense of subject-object perception was illusory and a sign of ignorance. However, the individual's sense of self was not a complete illusion since it was derived from the universal beingness that is Brahman.[97] Ramanuja saw Vishnu as a personification of Brahman.

Dvaita

Dvaita Vedanta (dualistic conclusions of the Vedas) school of philosophy was founded by Madhvacharya (c. 1238–1317 CE). It espouses dualism by theorising the existence of two separate realities. The first and the more important reality is that of Brahman (as Vishnu, Shiva, Shakti, or any henotheistic equivalent deity). Vishnu is the supreme Self, God, the absolute truth of the universe, the independent reality. The second reality is that of dependent but equally real universe that exists with its own separate essence. Everything that is composed of the second reality, such as individual soul (Jiva), matter, etc. exist with their own separate reality. The distinguishing factor of this philosophy as opposed to Advaita Vedanta (monistic conclusion of Vedas) is that God in Dvaita school is distinct and separate, takes on a role and is seen as a real eternal entity that governs and controls the universe.[98]

Five further distinctions are made— (1) Brahman is distinct from souls; (2) Brahman is distinct from matter; (3) Souls are distinct from matter; (4) A soul is distinct from another soul, and (5) Matter is distinct from other matter. Souls are eternal and are dependent upon the will of Brahman. This theology attempts to address the problem of evil with the idea that souls are not created. Because the existence of individuals is grounded in the divine, they are depicted as reflections, images or even shadows of the divine, but never in any way identical with the divine. Salvation therefore is described as the realisation that all finite reality is essentially dependent on the Supreme.[99]

Dvaitadvaita (Bhedabheda)

Dvaitadvaita was proposed by Nimbarka, a 13th-century Vaishnava Philosopher from the Andhra region. According to this philosophy there are three categories of existence: Brahman, soul, and matter. Soul and matter are different from Brahman in that they have attributes and capacities different from Brahman. Brahman exists independently, while soul and matter are dependent. Thus soul and matter have an existence that is separate yet dependent. Further, Brahman is a controller, the soul is the enjoyer, and matter the thing enjoyed. Also, the highest object of worship is Krishna and his consort Radha, attended by thousands of gopis, or cowherdesses; of the celestial Vrindavana; and devotion consists in self-surrender.

Shuddhadvaita

Shuddhadvaita is the "purely non-dual" philosophy propounded by Vallabhacharya (1479–1531 CE). The founding philosopher was also the guru of the Vallabhā sampradāya ("tradition of Vallabh") or Puśtimārg ("The path of grace"), a HinduVaishnava tradition focused on the worship of Krishna.

Acintya Bheda Abheda

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1534), stated that the soul or energy of God is both distinct and non-distinct from God, whom he identified as Krishna, Govinda, and that this, although unthinkable, may be experienced through a process of loving devotion (bhakti). He followed the Dvaita concept of Sri Madhva.[100] This philosophy of "inconceivable oneness and difference".

Carvaka

The Carvaka school is one of the nāstika or "heterodox" philosophies in Hinduism.[101][102][103] It rejects supernaturalism, emphasizes materialism and philosophical skepticism, holding empiricism, perception and conditional inference as the proper source of knowledge[104][105] Cārvāka is an atheistic school of thought.[106] It holds that there is neither afterlife nor rebirth, all existence is mere combination of atoms and substances, feelings and mind are an epiphenomenon, and free will exists.[107][108]

One of the widely studied principles of Cārvāka philosophy was its rejection of inference as a means to establish valid, universal knowledge, and metaphysical truths.[112] In other words, the Cārvāka epistemology states that whenever one infers a truth from a set of observations or truths, one must acknowledge doubt; inferred knowledge is conditional.[113]

Shaivism

Early history of Shaivism is difficult to determine.[114] However, the ŚvetāśvataraUpanishad (400 – 200 BCE)[115] is considered to be the earliest textual exposition of a systematic philosophy of Shaivism.[116] Shaivism is represented by various philosophical schools, including non-dualist (abheda), dualist (bheda), and non-dualist-with-dualist (bhedābheda) perspectives. Vidyaranya in his works mentions three major schools of Shaiva thought— Pashupata Shaivism, Shaiva Siddhanta and Pratyabhijña (Kashmir Shaivism).[117]

Pashupata Shaivism

Pashupata Shaivism is the oldest of the major Shaivite schools.[118] The philosophy of Pashupata sect was systematized by Lakulish in the 2nd century CE. Pashu in Pashupati refers to the effect (or created world), the word designates that which is dependent on something ulterior. Whereas, Pati means the cause (or prinripium), the word designates the Lord, who is the cause of the universe, the pati, or the ruler.[119] Pashupatas disapproved of the Vaishnava theology, known for its doctrine servitude of souls to the Supreme Being, on the grounds that dependence upon anything could not be the means of cessation of pain and other desired ends. They recognised that those depending upon another and longing for independence will not be emancipated because they still depend upon something other than themselves. According to Pashupatas, soul possesses the attributes of the Supreme Deity when it becomes liberated from the 'germ of every pain'.[120]

Pashupatas divided the created world into the insentient and the sentient. The insentient was the unconscious and thus dependent on the sentient or conscious. The insentient was further divided into effects and causes. The effects were of ten kinds, the earth, four elements and their qualities, colour etc. The causes were of thirteen kinds, the five organs of cognition, the five organs of action, the three internal organs, intellect, the ego principle and the cognising principle. These insentient causes were held responsible for the illusive identification of Self with non-Self. Salvation in Pashupata Shaivism involved the union of the soul with God through the intellect.[121]

Shaiva Siddhanta

Considered normative Tantric Shaivism, Shaiva Siddhanta[122][123] provides the normative rites, cosmology and theological categories of Tantric Shaivism.[124] Being a dualistic philosophy, the goal of Shaiva Siddhanta is to become an ontologically distinct Shiva (through Shiva's grace).[125] This tradition later merged with the Tamil Saiva movement and expression of concepts of Shaiva Siddhanta can be seen in the bhakti poetry of the Nayanars.[126]

Kashmir Shaivism

Kashmir Shaivism arose during the eighth[127] or ninth century CE[128] in Kashmir and made significant strides, both philosophical and theological, until the end of the twelfth century CE.[129] It is categorised by various scholars as monistic[130]idealism (absolute idealism, theistic monism, realistic idealism,[131] transcendental physicalism or concrete monism[131]). It is a school of Śaivism consisting of Trika and its philosophical articulation Pratyabhijña.[132]

Even though, both Kashmir Shaivism and Advaita Vedanta are non-dual philosophies which give primacy to Universal Consciousness (Chit or Brahman),[133] in Kashmir Shavisim, as opposed to Advaita, all things are a manifestation of this Consciousness.[134] This implies that from the point of view of Kashmir Shavisim, the phenomenal world (Śakti) is real, and it exists and has its being in Consciousness (Chit).[135] Whereas, Advaita holds that Brahman is inactive (niṣkriya) and the phenomenal world is an illusion (māyā).[136] The objective of human life, according to Kashmir Shaivism, is to merge in Shiva or Universal Consciousness, or to realize one's already existing identity with Shiva, by means of wisdom, yoga and grace.[137]

↑Original Sanskrit and Translation: The Vaisheshika Sutra of Kanada with the Commentary of Sankara Misra BD Basu (Translator), The Sacred Books of the Hindus, Volume 6, University of Toronto Archives; For modern translations and a history of the Vaisheshika Sutras in the 1st millennium BCE, see: Stephen H. Phillips (1998), Classical Indian Metaphysics, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814899, pages 38-54

↑V.V. Raman (2012), Hinduism and Science: Some Reflections, Zygon - Journal of Religion and Science, 47(3): 549–574, Quote (page 557): "Aside from nontheistic schools like the Samkhya, there have also been explicitly atheistic schools in the Hindu tradition. One virulently anti-supernatural system is/was the so-called Carvaka school.", doi:10.1111/j.1467-9744.2012.01274.x

↑ 106.0106.1106.2Radhakrishnan, Sarvepalli and Moore, Charles (1957). A Source Book in Indian Philosophy. Princeton University Press. pp. 227–249. ISBN0-691-01958-4.

Müeller, Max (1899). Six Systems of Indian Philosophy; Samkhya and Yoga, Naya and Vaiseshika. Calcutta: Susil Gupta (India) Ltd. ISBN0-7661-4296-5. Reprint edition; Originally published under the title of The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy.